Heterogeneously Chemo/Enzyme-Functionalized Porous Polymeric Catalysts of High-Performance for Efficient Biodiesel Production

• Published in: ACS catalysis Vol. 9; no. 12; pp. 10990 - 11029
• Main Authors: Zhang, Heng, Li, Hu, Xu, Chunbao Charles, Yang, Song
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 06.12.2019
• Subjects: chemical catalysis; functionalized porous polymers; renewable liquid biomass; heterogeneous catalysis; enzymatic catalysis; biodiesel
• ISSN: 2155-5435; 2155-5435
• DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.9b02748

Efficient transformation of renewable biomass into chemicals and biofuels, including liquid biomass-derived nonedible oils to biodiesel, is of great importance. Developing heterogeneously functional materials is being deemed as a subject of particular interest to scientists in selective catalytic chemistry especially for biomass valorization. In this regard, porous polymers, featuring high surface areas, prominent stabilities, and chemically adjustable moieties, have attracted extensive concerns. In this Review, recent developments on the application of heterogeneously functionalized porous polymeric catalysts of high performance, including acid/base chemosynthetic organic polymers/natural biodegradable biopolymers like chitosan, organic–inorganic hybrid polymeric materials such as functional porous coordination polymers, and porous polymers immobilized with enzymes for effective upgrading of oil feedstocks into biodiesel are summarized. Catalytic protocols using functional polymeric catalysts provide significant benefits for realizing biorefinery procedures because of the following reasons: (i) no polluting reagents, (ii) high activities and selectivities, and (iii) simple and convenient catalyst recycling. Attention has been drawn, in particular, to understanding the role of acidity/basicity, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, swelling property, and porosity of polymer materials in biodiesel production through transesterification and esterification reactions. In addition, plausible reaction mechanisms are also depicted accordingly, while highlighting the main remaining challenges and future prospects.